As a result of Scott ~ ss396t6's daughter buying a 1962 Bulletbird, I am getting an education in Bulletbird gas tanks! Here is the scoop on this, in the event you do not know this....

According to Automotive Mile Posts, production on the 1962 Bulletbird started on August 21, 1961 and ended on August 8, 1962. According to the 1961-1963 Fords Parts Catalog, (thanks to John ~ jopizz) they made a fuel tank change on August 1st, 1961 before production started... According to Spectra Premium, who makes our fuel tanks now, they said it was sometime in September 1961 when this change was made. At the start of production some Bulletbirds apparently left the factory with fuel tank F36B in them, which has a different filler neck that fits into the tank, and a shorter and different filler tube pipe than the 1962 F36 tank has. Sometime early in the production run, apparently, Ford changed to the F36 tank, a different, shorter filler neck, and a longer metal filler tube pipe. As a result of this, Spectra has been manufacturing 2 fuel tanks for the '61/'62 Bulletbirds and you need to know for sure which one you need.. Unfortunately, Spectra does not make these metal filler tube pipes, but they are available on eBay and from our parts houses. They told me that the two tanks are not interchangeable. The F36B is a direct replacement for the original F36B that was on the car before the engineering change. The F36 is correct for the 1962-1963 Bulletbird, after they started mounting the F36 on these Bulletbirds. I will post the graphic below that jopizz sent me so you can see the difference between the two systems. You will see one that says Before 7-1-61, and to the right, one that says From 7-1-61. I will also post a picture of what the sending unit looks like after it was pulled from that tank, which is probably the OEM tank.

I now know that Scotts daughters Tbird had a Date of 14J which indicates it was built fairly early on in the production run, Tbird 5,202 in the production run, about 3 weeks after the start of production. We also now know, that according to what John ~ jopizz has told me, after looking at the picture Scott sent me, that the fuel tank on that Tbird is a F36 with the revised metal filler tube pipe on it. So sometime between August 21, 1961, and that date, or before, they made a change to the newer F36 fuel tank and assembly. There is quite a bit of difference between the Squarebirds fuel tanks and the Bulletbird ones. First of all, there is no fuel line that comes out of the bottom of the tank as there is on the Squarebirds. The fuel line is attached to the sending unit and comes up through the tank through the lid, apparently. You will see what it looks like, as best you can coated with 50+ years of gunk, after they took it out of the tank. You will see a valley in the tank right above what is or was the float. The rubber fuel line is laid in that valley and runs until it meets the metal fuel line to the fuel pump. John says you should tape that rubber line down to keep it in place. Notice that the F36 and F36B has a vent tube sticking out to the left of the filler neck, and on the F36, has a rubber hose that slips onto that tube. In the picture it is broken and off the tube. John says it is factory taped to the long metal filler pipe. He said that since the tank is vented, unlike our Squarebird tanks, it is not necessary to use a vented gas cap. Also there is a metal tab on the underside of that metal filler pipe with a couple of small holes drilled in the tab. That is for mounting it to the frame to keep the pipe from moving around.

As Dave ~ simplyconnected always says, drill a hole in the flange of the fuel tank (making certain you do NOT puncture the tank!). Then run a good ground wire to the body frame, clean off an area there, drill it, and bolt that wire well to the frame to get a good ground...

Hopefully, this information will be of assistance to those of you who own a 1961 or a 1962 very early production with a F36B fuel tank in it, or a F36 revised fuel tank in it. There certainly is a difference and when ordering a tank you need to make sure that you buy the same type as you have on the Tbird now. Scott is ordering the new F36 tank, and all the parts for it to replace that mess that was on the car. So far, he has found the Spectra tank, sending unit and parts for it with free shipping at a decent price on FleeBay.. Compared to some of our Tbird parts houses... Here are a few pix, including the '62 Tank graphic from the Ford Parts Catalog.

To see the '62 Bulletbird Tank graphic from the Ford Parts CatalogCLICK HERE

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